Two hours, and one long stand still later, they began heading in the opposite direction of leaving. William walked in the middle, keeping his woman as far away from their newly unwanted guest as possible.
Several minutes later they were closing in on a turnpike right below the bridge. The air hung low and dense around them as if to match the impending danger. Near the turnpike were three slabes of weathered, dry rotting, wooden panels; they were pieced together haphazardly so that one would have to crouch low while to gain access inside, while someone else waited outside. William held a hand up to stop Elizabeth, and they both watched Ru, shrink inside. He smiled devilishly at them and motioned for them to enter but neither moved. From inside Ru looked annoyed as he hollered,
"Come inside. I have food and it's warm. You can rest a little while and then be on your way."
Extreme hesitation from either of them caused Ru's unpredictable temper to spike, the glare in his eyes matched a wicked scowl across his lips, which let William know, he couldn't possibly forgive himself if he left her here with him. Neither man spoke a word as the tension in the air could be cut with a dull knife; they merely sent sidelong glances at each other from across the small, cramped, and completely make shift quarters.
Eventually she'd had enough and pushed past to sit on the ground directly in front of his feet. William smiled down at her for a brief moment before his gaze shot back upward to glare unspoken hatred at the tattooed man. He flashed a little smile as he continued rummaging through a few open faced boxes.
"See, your girl has the right idea. That is your girl right?"
The shameless jab sent a few shockwaves down William's spine. She wasn't his girl exactly but he didn't want him knowing. Taking a deep breath, he tries to disguise the worry in his eyes along with his next few words,
"So what if she's my girl. What's it to you?"
The minute those last words passed his lips he already knew the mistake that was made. Ru's smirk turned into a wicked grin, but before anything else could be said, city officials appeared behind him.
"We don't care where you three go but you can't stay here. Time to pack it up. We'll give you a few minutes to gather a few things before we tear it down but please don't come back here."
Both men glanced at each other before turning their attention back on the officials and nodding in agreement; Elizabeth had her head in her hands and hadn't understood a word so she made no move or gesture of any kind. One of the officials noticed this, and decided it would be a good idea to place his steel toed boot, at the base of her back; she screamed as she fell forward, from a seated position, completely onto her stomach. This didn't sit right with either male, and even though they currently disliked each other, disrespecting any female in front of them could very well be this man's last mistake.